Scary Sarah Palin

Did you see her last night?

I didn’t think she’d be awful, or embarrassing, but neither did I think she’d be quite so good.  She looked great.  She was relaxed, poised, confident, funny even.  A funny, conservative, pro-gun, pro-life, creationist.  How’s that for an oxymoron?

Yesterday, I posted about how I’d be better for the job than she would. (you can read it, here. and please do!) And I still think she’s far from being ready to be President of the Untied States.  But even though I disagreed with just about everything she said (other than the straight facts), I was impressed.

And that’s why I’m scared.

This is a woman who can make truly nasty personal remarks about her opponents, and make it sound charming.  That is dangerous. Because who knows what else she can say and make it sound palatable.  We should drill in national parkland? We should forgoe civil rights when it comes to foreign suspects?  The possibilities are staggering…and awful.

Speaking of awful…what’s with the nastiness?  The two digs at community organizer?  As Sybil Vane points out in her excellent post today, Dr. King was a community organizer.  Guess his experience didn’t count for anything either.

During Palin’s speech, I kept on thinking about Obama and Biden, and how generous they were in their praise of McCain the person — if not the candidate.  They attacked his positions — not him. Palin, on the other hand, went for the jugular. (For a really good parsing of her speech, click here.)

There were other differences between the two conventions.  Did you notice the suit and ties in the crowd? (Did they all get a “dress conservatively” memo? ) Did you notice the lack of diversity? (I love how the cameras seek out the faces of color – look! I found one! Let’s get him on camera!)

Palin may have derrogatority referred to Obama’s supporters as his “devoted followers,” but to me, last night’s crowd was like a field full of angry rednecks heading out to a lynching.  There was something frightening about all that chanting. (drill baby drill!?!?!?!? – holy crap!)

What’s really terrifying is that even though so much of what she said is patently untrue ( For instance, Obama’s tax plan raises taxes only for the richest 5% — oh wait! they’re all Republicans!), the crowd ate it up.

Evidently, if you’re a democrat, being a good public speaker means you’re devoid of ideas.  But if you’re a Rebublican, nasty barbs, tasteless jokes (the poor maligned Pitt Bull!), and egregious misstatement of facts – if said with a smile — add up to policy.

And one more thing — just curious — does anyone know what “victory” in Iraq means?

Seriously — tell me if you do.